


wherever you're going tonight

by AnnabethGinevraJacksonPotter



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - No Demigods (Percy Jackson), Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Percabeth Week, Walk Into A Bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28041225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnabethGinevraJacksonPotter/pseuds/AnnabethGinevraJacksonPotter
Summary: It's impossible to meet the love of your life in a crowded bar, isn't it? / or the one where Percy decides to try the new bar around the block and Jason's friend is really hot. Percabeth AU. One shot. Rated T for language and suggestive content.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 62





	wherever you're going tonight

**Author's Note:**

> It's impossible to meet the love of your life in a crowded bar, isn't it? / Percabeth
> 
> Word Count w/o AN: 3099
> 
> Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, products, brands, etc. mentioned in this story.
> 
> This story is loosely based on the song "El Tejano" by Lauv and Sofia Reyes.

Music floods the busy Los Angeles streets as the doors to the bar are flung open. The strong aroma of chilies and lime hits Percy, making his eyes tear up as he walks into the establishment. He normally wasn’t much for nightlife. He found it tacky and a little too unpredictable for his taste. But he was new to the area and didn’t know many people, so when his roommates, Jason and Leo, suggested that they go to the new bar around the block, Percy figured why not. Plus, their tacos were supposed to be great, and he would never pass up a good taco. 

The bar is absolutely packed for its fairly small square footage. The lights are dimmed so low that the masses are barely discernible, faces lit only by glowing phone screens. The trio pushes their way through the crowd to the bar. 

“Two margaritas on the rocks, and one coke please. And a plate of your fish tacos. Thanks,” Jason calls out to the bartender. Leo was the ‘responsible’ one tonight, so they decided it was best if he stayed sober. 

Percy drums his fingers on the counter as he waits for his drink. A Spanish cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” pours out through the speakers. Leo decides this is a fantastic time to describe, in excruciating and unnecessary detail, his exploits the previous night in trying to impress his attractive coworker. And while Percy would rather not hear this story, peppered with self-deprecating jokes and the occasional offensive comment, he’s glad that Leo finally has his eyes on a specific someone instead of openly ogling every girl he sees. 

The bartender slides over their order, interrupting Leo’s tales, and the three of them eat in silence. Percy’s lost deep in thought, mentally charting out his lesson plans for the following week when he hears a voice he wouldn’t mind listening to for the rest of his life.

“Jason? Jason Grace?” the girl asks, clear shock plastered on her face.

Jason turns to see the blonde. “Anna? Oh my god it’s been forever, how are you?”

“I’m great. It’s so good seeing you!”

“Did you come here by yourself? You know that’s not safe.”

“I needed a break, leave me alone,” she chuckles. Percy can no longer take the suspense and turns around.

Speaking to Jason is a very attractive woman, roughly his age, in a tight black dress. He silently thanks the gods for creating such clothing. He knows he shouldn’t be looking at her like this, especially if she’s a friend of Jason’s, but he can’t help himself. She is by far the most beautiful human being Percy has ever laid eyes on. She has gorgeous, sharp, gray eyes that could cut metal and golden ringlets falling down her back. Percy has to pinch himself to stop staring. His eyes shoot between her and Jason as they continue to reminisce. He wonders how Jason knows this angel of a human being. But before Percy can inquire, Leo beats him to the punch.

“Now, I don’t want to interrupt this lovely conversation, but Jason would you mind introducing us to this beauty?” Leo asks, winking at the girl. She shoots him a look of disgust, but a smile lingers underneath.

Jason chuckles, “This is Annabeth. She and my sister, Thalia, have been best friends since we were little kids. I hadn’t seen her since high school.” He turns to face Annabeth, “Annabeth, this is Leo Valdez, and Percy Jackson. The three of us went to UC Irvine together and moved out here a couple months ago.”

Annabeth nods at Leo. “Nice to meet you”, and turns to Percy, her eyes twinkling with clear mischief. “Percy. Nice name. Is that all you can handle?” she asks, pointing to his margarita.   
She calls out to the bartender, “Can I get a round of tequila, neat?” 

She pushes out the drinks to the boys. She throws the tequila back at once, calling out for one more to the bartender. Percy just watches in awe. There’s something so attractive about the way she stands there, just living in the moment. After throwing back one more, she turns to Percy.

“Hey, how about you come dance with me?”

Percy freezes, his eyes flitting down to make eye contact with Annabeth. She wanted to dance with him? He obviously isn’t going to say no to the proposition, but his mouth runs dry, preventing him from speaking up. Lucky for him, Annabeth doesn’t wait for a response. She grabs him by the hands and pulls him back through the crowd. He turns back to look at Jason and Leo with wide eyes. Jason just shrugs while Leo gives him and thumbs up and mouths ‘get it’. 

The sheer amount of people in the bar makes it difficult to stand more than a couple inches from the people to either side, which just means Annabeth is pushed up against Percy’s body and he is not complaining, that’s for sure. He wraps his arms around her waist while she throws her arms around his neck. They sway to the music. Percy prefers the silence to having an actual conversation because he is certain that the second he opens his mouth to speak, he’ll swallow any words he planned on letting out. 

A more upbeat song comes on and Annabeth removes her arms from around Percy’s neck, opting to grab him by the hand and leading him to spin her. They move back and forth, in step with one another, to the beat of the music. Percy’s shocked that he’s able to keep up with Annabeth. She tells him that she took dance lessons throughout her teenage years, and Percy’s few stints at high school dances could barely match up. It’s probably the alcohol giving him the confidence to continue dancing with no regard to anyone else around him and he’s supremely glad that he’s new to town and no one he knows can be filming this inevitable trainwreck. God forbid his students ever see such a thing. 

The music slows down, causing Annabeth to press herself up onto Percy, returning to their original dancing position. If Percy wasn’t already in love with her before, he sure is now. She leans her head on his chest and rocks in sync with him. Even in 3-inch heels, she reaches just under Percy’s shoulders and he finds it absolutely endearing. He thinks she could be the love of his life, that is, before he remembers that he has only known her for about twenty minutes. 

Annabeth looks up at Percy inquisitively for a few seconds until he realizes that he’s been intently staring at her. His face heats up and he begins to stammer, but Annabeth interrupts him with a finger on his lips to silence him. A shiver goes down Percy’s spine. 

Annabeth pulls Percy even closer-- which he didn’t know was possible-- and whispers something into his ear. Unfortunately, the music is so loud that he only feels the breath leave her lips, the air hot on his ear. Oh boy, he was fucked. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you!” Percy says, leaning down to look at Annabeth.

“What?” Annabeth nearly shouts. “Speak up!”

“I said I couldn’t hear what you said.”

“Oh! I asked if you wanted to go grab another drink.”

“No, I don’t have a sink…” Percy responds, slightly perplexed.

Annabeth looks up at him, her face tilted to the right, brows furrowed. Percy thinks he could just about kiss her. Though kissing her after only having exchanged two sentences would probably be too much, too soon. But that doesn’t stop him from staring at her lips, falling into a whirlpool of daydreams. Therefore, it takes Annabeth waving her hand in his face for him to realize that those very lips were mouthing words the whole time.

“Percy. Percy… Percy!” she shouts.

“Oh. OH. Yes?”

“Let’s go grab another drink?” she says it in a questioning fashion, but it seems like she’d made up her mind because Percy is yet again being dragged across the room to the bar. She taps the counter with her palm and asks for two more margaritas. Leo and Jason walk back over to the pair. Annabeth turns to continue her previous conversation with Jason, but Percy notices that she doesn’t let go of his hand. He smiles to himself, but Leo catches him. 

“Damn, Jackson. I didn’t know you had game.”

“I’d hardly call this game. I think this is called one too many margaritas and Spanish Nirvana.”

“Yeah, okay. If I were you, I’d get out of here. I can barely hear you from here. Plus, you’d get a lot more action if the closest private area wasn’t a bar bathroom,” Leo adds, smirking suggestively. Percy wasn’t surprised at the notion. Leo wasn’t Leo without at least one sexual innuendo per interaction.

Percy smacks him lightly on the shoulder, but didn’t disagree with the sentiment. While he definitely didn’t mind his forced close proximity to Annabeth in the bar, they could barely speak to one another without shouting. So maybe it was best to take off. But in true Percy fashion, he has to rehearse what he could say in his head before.

Everyday, in the car ride to work, he’d practice what he was going to say to the kids during each class. Teaching middle school English is difficult enough as it is without adding flustered breaks to remember the lesson in the middle. It works in that case, so it should theoretically work now. But his twelve-year-old students weren’t beautiful blonde women wearing tight black dresses that left little to the imagination. 

Once he’s satisfied with his mental rehearsals, followed by Leo’s teasing of said rehearsals, Percy finally turns back towards Annabeth.

“Hey, uh, so, do you maybe wanna-- I don’t know-- get, uh, out of here?” he manages to get out.

Annabeth smirks, “Smooth, Jackson.”

Her reaction gives Percy a little jolt of confidence, “You didn’t answer my question, Chase.”

Annabeth looks mildly impressed, though she tries to hide it almost immediately. “Why not. Let’s go.”

Percy nods to his friends while Annabeth hugs Jason and the two of them push their way to the exit while Leo whistles at them. They step outside, the cool air a welcome relief after the sticky, hot bar. 

“So, where do you wanna go?” Annabeth asks, wrapping her arms around her shoulders to keep herself warm. Percy wishes he had a jacket to offer her. Just imagining her with his jacket sends a shiver down his spine. The good kind of shiver.

“Wait. You don’t even know me. Aren’t you scared I’m going to kidnap you or something?” Percy asks. He’s a lot of things, but a creep isn’t one of them. 

Annabeth just chuckles. “Are you going to kidnap me?”

“Well, no.”

“Then no, I’m not scared.”

“That doesn’t seem like a smart decision.”

“You’re Jason’s friend. I trust him, so I trust you.”

“Fair enough.”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” Annabeth mentions.

“Well, there’s this coffee shop about a mile from here. Their muffins are to die for,” Percy suggests.

“Percy, it’s 11 PM. Are they really open this late?”

“My friend, Piper, works there. They’re open till midnight. We can still make it.”

“Well, let’s give it a shot.”

They stroll down the street, their hands brushing as they swing. The buzz outside has died down, with only the occasional car speeding along. The sidewalks are lit only by dim streetlights, but Percy quite likes it. He’s never loved LA. The city, albeit filled with opportunity, was packed with questionable people. What, with their gluten-free this and Soulcycle that. It was hard to find genuine people who had something real to share in a crowd of Hollywood wannabes. It’s moments like this where he realizes the city has its merits. 

Percy gets a text from Leo letting him know that he and Jason have returned to their apartment safely, followed by another cheeky innuendo that’s explicit enough that he’s embarrassed to even read it. He ignores the messages and shoves his phone in his pocket. He could-- and would prefer to-- listen to Annabeth speak forever. 

Along the way, Percy learns that Annabeth is an architect, working her way up the ladder at her firm. She shares her thoughts about building something permanent and tells stories about the projects she has worked on. Percy complements them with his own stories of students. They bond over their mutual love for Jane Austen novels. And no, before you say anything, Percy just likes the old-timey romance. It does not in any way make him any less of a man. There’s something so poetic about writing love letters, finding meaning between the lines. They discuss Emma and how it compares to “Clueless” for the rest of the walk, leading to an invigorating, yet light discussion.

They arrive at Callie’s, the coffee shop, and walk inside, the bell chiming. The store is deserted with the exception of a couple sitting in the corner. Annabeth gets a green tea and a chocolate chip muffin because Percy insists, and Percy follows suit, opting for a hot chocolate instead.

“There’s an awful lot of tequila in my system, let’s see what happens when we mix green tea with it,” Annabeth says as they grab their drinks.

“At least it’s not coffee. My first time getting drunk in college, I tried to see if coffee would fix me. It most certainly did not,” Percy adds, laughing.

Percy looks around Callie’s, taking in the surroundings. He’s only been in here a handful of times but the atmosphere is almost homey. He feels more comfortable here than he does in any other place in LA. He looks across the table at Annabeth, whose hair has now been pulled into a low ponytail, and wonders how the hell he got so lucky as to meet someone like her tonight. She tilts her head at him when she notices him looking at her. Percy just blinks and smiles. If it isn’t already obvious, Percy loves silence. It allows him to observe and react without getting distracted. But it seems like Annabeth doesn’t. 

“Okay let’s play a game,” Annabeth says out of the blue, startling Percy.

“Um, okay, sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Twenty questions.”

“Interesting choice.”

“Well, if this is going to go anywhere, I need to know that you’re not crazy,” she says, gesturing in between the two of them.

“Oh, so this is going to go somewhere?”

“I’d hope so. So, question one, you think this is going somewhere?”

“I’d want nothing more than that,” Percy responds, internally combusting at the suggestion. 

Annabeth grins, “Good. Me too. Okay your turn.”

“Where are you from?”

“Reseda. Do you like Friends? There’s a right answer by the way.”

The question is definitely a test, and Percy takes it just as seriously. “Um hell yeah. Phoebe’s the fucking best.”

“Glad we agree.”

They go back and forth until it’s time for the café to close and the barista literally has to kick them out because they’re so engrossed in one another. They stumble out onto the street, hand in hand. They’re still a little drunk and their decision making isn’t probably the best but Percy is now fully convinced that he’s in love. 

Annabeth begins pulling Percy in the direction opposite his apartment, and he’s confused for a moment, but doesn’t care enough to say anything. They walk past a row of bars and restaurants and continue until they’re in front of an abandoned warehouse. Percy walks further, but looks back when Annabeth stops dead in her tracks.

She looks at him, a mixture of amusement and hunger in her eyes and steps closer to him. Annabeth runs a hand through his hair, trying to flatten the little patch that keeps sticking up. 

“You’re kinda hot, you know that?” she states, placing her hand on his chest.

Percy gulps, “I could say the same for you.” They just stare at each other and Percy thinks he could get lost in her eyes. He moves forward and leans in when Annabeth suddenly spins out of his arms and pins him against the wall. 

“Not so fast.” She starts dropping kisses on his jawline and Percy has to physically stop himself from moaning. He hopes she can’t feel how fast his heart is beating. 

Annabeth makes her way down to his collarbone and Percy takes the opportunity to catch her lips with his. She willingly complies, pushing into him and parting her mouth. She pushes her hand into his hair and Percy swears he’s in paradise. He hoists her legs up around his hips and flips her so she’s up against the wall. 

Annabeth deepens the kiss and Percy can taste the tequila on her breath. She fingers his shirt and slips her hands under. Her palms are cool on his skin and he wants more than anything to rip her dress off right then and there. But they’re in public. And he doesn’t want to end up in the county jail for public indecency. So he comes up for air and brushes a single blonde strand out of her eyes.

“Maybe we take this somewhere else?” he says.

Annabeth nods breathlessly. She points across the street at an apartment building. “My place. Now.”

Percy kisses her once more, grabs her hand, and sprints right through traffic to the other side of the street. They definitely get honked at by a couple of taxis, but he can’t bring himself to care. The doorman lets them in and they mess with the elevator buttons for a second before deciding to just take the stairs. They stumble up two flights, giggling and continuing their game from earlier, but they’re both too giddy to form coherent sentences.

They stop outside Annabeth’s apartment and she ruffles through her purse for her keys. She shoves it into the lock and pushes the doors open. It’s dark signaling that her roommate has gone to bed and for once, Percy doesn’t quite care either way. He looks around, trying to catch a glimpse into Annabeth’s life, but she’s far too impatient to let him take his time. 

She drags him straight to her room and pushes him onto the bed. He stares up at her, and he’s definitely not complaining about the view. She climbs over him and brushes her hand over his face.

“Now, where were we?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Drop a comment!


End file.
